Be Your Own Ed
by paracosmic-dreamer
Summary: Eddy knows Double D better than anyone; better than Double D knows himself. That's why everything Eddy does is for his friend's own good.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Ed, Edd n Eddy or any of the following characters.**

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Eddy would never admit to something like this, but he had bigger reasons for doing the things he did than money or jawbreakers. A goal that wasn't trivial or short-term. It was his motivation. It gave him a purpose.

Every scam—every misadventure—they were all for Double D.

And money...

And jawbreakers...

But mostly Double D.

To Eddy, he was sort of a project.

See, Double D came from a strict family (and a neglective one, at that). They did more than raise him to be prim and proper, well behaved, and self-disciplined. They programmed him to be subservient. They discouraged him from having fun; for thinking for himself.

That's what bothered Eddy the most: Double D was the smartest person he knew. Not the smartest _kid_ he knew—the smartest _person._ Smarter than Eddy's stupid parents, who never listened to him or cared what he thought. Smarter than the teachers at school, who only cared about their salaries and abusing their authority. Smarter than all of the students; smarter than all of them combined. Double D was a precocious child. A promising inventor. A great scientist and mathematician. He could invent all kinds of contraptions. Solve almost any equation. That's why Eddy hated the fact that Double D couldn't think for himself. He hated knowing that the most curious person he knew was unable to question authority. That Double D blindly did whatever his parents told him. That he believed every word they said and thought they were for his own good.

To be subservient is to give up your power to someone else. Eddy hated the fact that Double D was giving up his power; someone who had so much of it.

Eddy knew that the person that Double D was raised to be and the person he was born to be were two different people; looking at him was like looking at two different people at once. Eddy could see right past one and through to the other.

It was a matter of nature vs. nurture. His friend was nurtured into being Eddward. Double D was Edd's natural self. If his parents hadn't tampered with him and turned him into the cautious, docile, killjoy that he was—if he didn't try so hard to be "perfect" for them—Double D would be perfect.

That's why everything Eddy did was for Double D's own good. He was the only one who could see him that clearly; better than Double D could see himself. Eddy was the only one who could save him; who could set him free. He couldn't waste a moment of his time. If he waited too long, he was afraid that Double D's personality would cement.

Eddy would show him a world outside of his home. He would give him a _new_ home, with the Eds. A new family. A new name. He would show him what it was like to have fun, and damned if he let his friend's own protests stand in the way. Most importantly, he would teach him to be himself someday. He would release him from the cage that he was in; from the person he thought he was. He only had to show it to him. Because, right now, Double D couldn't think for himself.

And because Eddy was able to look past the person that Double D was raised to be, and through to the person that he was born to be, Eddy was able to connect with Double D and bring out the latter's true colors.

It was the true Double D, who would ramble on for hours and never shut up. The true Double D, who sassed Eddy whenever the former teased him. The true Double D, who wasn't afraid to show off his talents. The true Double D, who would say, "I told you so." The true Double D, who smirked smugly. The true Double D was anything but modest. He wasn't quiet or reserved or composed. He was talkative (_too_ talkative), exuberant, and high-strung. Eddward would never "talk back" to someone. Double D would lecture. Double D was sassy. He was a smartass.

Eddward would also never participate in any of Ed and Eddy's reindeer games. He would never go along with Eddy's scams. But Double D would, even if he pretended he didn't want to. Double D was the inventor. He was the one who made everything happen. All he had to do was say no, and that would be that. Without his help, whatever scheme Eddy was cooking up would fall flat.

And it wasn't that Double D went along with Eddy's plans simply because of his docile nature. As previously mentioned, he was able to be himself around Eddy—rather, he was _un_able to _not_ be himself—so he wasn't afraid to say no to him.

It was that he couldn't.

He could deny wanting to take part in anything Eddy had planned, but he couldn't say no to something that he actually wanted. Or, he _could_ say no, but he'd go along with it anyway.

He knew the things that Eddy did were often considered wrong—either, unethical or against the rules—he knew that his parents didn't approve of Eddy; but also knew that Eddy was fun.

Eddy brought out a different side of him. A side that Double D was made to feel ashamed of. A side that he'd tried to close off. Or maybe it was more than a side of him. Maybe it was who he was.

With Eddy, Double D could learn to be himself.

With Eddy, he could learn to have fun.


End file.
